Author(s)

Date Approved

Embargo Period

Document Type

Degree Name

Department

College

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering

First Advisor

Mehta, Yusuf

Subject(s)

Pavements--Performance--New Jersey; Structural analysis (Engineering)

Disciplines

Civil Engineering

Abstract

The models used in the mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (M-EPDG) were calibrated using the data from all across the United States. The alligator cracking model uses traffic, material and structural data along with local and global calibration factors to calculate the number of axles to failure and the damage index. Both of which are further used to calculate the fatigue cracking in the pavement with the help of regression coefficients and calibration constants. However, as these coefficients and constants were developed using the national database, the model might not predict the fatigue behavior of the pavement accurately for a particular state. This problem arises from the fact that there were limited sections of LTPP in every state and the model was calibrated on the average value using the national database.

The verification of M-EPDG with level 2 and 3 inputs for the State of New Jersey did not yield satisfactory results with respect to alligator cracking for 25 sections analyzed in one of the studies. The reasons for the difference between the predicted and measured results might be due to inaccurate inputs or error in the calibration factors or regression coefficients in the prediction models. As the accuracy of the input data was confirmed by using multiple resources, the confidence level with respect to the input data was very high. Thus the error might be due to error in the calibration factors or regression coefficients in the prediction model that was calculated based on the national average.

The main focus of this study is to use the twenty five sections evaluated in the above mentioned study and four more NJDOT sections to understand the physical impact of these regression constants on pavement performance and their variability with different pavement properties and parameters. The final aim of this study is to calibrate and validate the alligator cracking model for the state of New Jersey using these twenty nine sections spread across the State.